Phonograph-needle



/ T. FLETCHER.

PHONOGRAPH NEEDLE. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 5, 1919.

1,391,884. PatentedSept. 27 1921.

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INVENTOR ATTORNEYS WITNESSES UNITED STATES ATE T OFFICE.

THEODORE FLETCHER, OF SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF '10 J. M.

' NIX, OF BEXAB COUNTY, TEXAS.

PHONOGBAPH-NEEDLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept.-27, 1921.

Application flled June 5, 1919. Serial No. 301,871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Tnsooona Fmrrormn, a subject of the King of GreatBritain, residing at San Antonio, in the county of Bexar and State ofTexas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPhonograph-Needles, of which the following is a specification.

M invention relates to improvements in needles for phonographs.

An important object of the invention is to provide a needle of theabove-mentioned character, which by being turned upon its longitudinalaxis, will function as a soft, medium, or loud needle.

A further object of the invention is to provide a needle of theabove-mentioned char.- acter which is simple in construction,inexpensive to manufacture, and may be used in connection withphonograph records of different types.

Another object is that b making the shank of the needle more exible inone position than it is in another it is capable of absorbing most ofthe strong vibrations communicated to it from the record and by so doingcut them out from reaching the diaphragm and so play softly, at the sametime preserving the overtones which add so much to the rendition of themusic, but which are often lost in reproduction.

Another object is to confinethe improvement to the shank of the needle,so that the same principle can be employed with needles having atungsten or jewel point, besides the'solid steel one, so that all makesof records can be played with needles having my improvement, withvarious volumes of sound, as desired.

Other objects and advantages of the mvention will be apparent during thecourse i of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and inwhich like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout thesame- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a needle embodymg my invention;

Fig. 2 is a similar view, with the needle turned at substantially aright angle to Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a second form of needle embodying myinvention;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a third form of needle embodying myinvention;

or lever,

Fig. 5 is a similar view of a fourth form of needle embodying theinvention;

Fig. 6 1s a similar view of a fifth form of needle embodying theinvention;

F1g. 7 is a side elevation, taken at a right angle to Fig. 4, of theneedle shown in Fig.4;

1g. 8 is a side elevation of the needle shown In Fig. 1, showing thesame in use, and playing as a soft needle; and

Fig. 9 is a similar view showing the needle turned at a right angle, andplaying as a hard needle.

In the drawing, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown apreferred embodiment of my invention, attention being first called toFigs. 1 and 2, the numeral 10 designates the body portion of the needle,whlch 15 preferably circular in cross-section, throughout the greaterportion of its length. The needle is shown as tapered at its forwardend. The numeral 11 designates a thin or flattened portion formed in thebody portion 10 of the needle. This thin or flat-- tened portionprovides concave recesses 12 upon the opposite sides thereof. The thinor flattened portion 11 is disposed in the central longitudinal axis ofthe needle, and projects beyond its periphery, as shown in F 1g. 1. Thisthin orflattened portion has preferably curved edges 13. Particular attention is called to the fact that the thin or flattened portion 11 isnot arranged near the forward or tapered end of the needle, but isdisposed at a point remote -from such forward end, or near its rear end.This thin or flattened portion is adapted to be disposed adjacent thesocket 14 of the vibratory stylus connected with the flexible diaphragmof the phonograph, as is well known.

he function of the thin or flattened portion 11 is to impart anincreased flexibility to the needle when desired, and by locating thisportion at or near the rear. end of the needle, or the socket 14, thesame result is obtained as if the needle were rendered flexible throughits entire length.

In Fig. 3, the numeral 15 designates the body portion of a difi'erentform of needle spect to the body portion 10 in one direction diameter ina direction at The body at its forbut has the same right angles to thefirst direction. portion 15 is preferably tapered ward end, as shown.

In Figs. 4 and 7, I have shown a different form of needle, having aboddy portion 18. This body portion is provide with a flattened portion19, which extends from the forward tapering end thereof to a point 20,arranged near its rear end, whereby the needle may be rendered flexiblein playing, throughout its entire operating length, As shown in Fig. 7,when the needle is turned at a right angle to Fig. 4, the flattenedportion 19 has the same diameter as the body portion of the needle.

In Fig. 5, the numeral 21 designates the body portion of a needlesimilar to that shown in Figs. 4 and 7. This body portion is providedwith a flattened portion 22, forming recesses 23. This flattened portionstarts from a point spaced a substantial distance from the forwardtapered end of the body portion and extends to a point near its rearend. The portion 22 is flattened in one direction only, and at a rightangle to the flattened portion which has the same diameter as the bodyportion 21.

In Fig. 6, the numeral 24 needle, provided with a plurality of V- shapedopenings or notches 25, formed therein, and arranged in the same plane.These notches are disposed at a point remote from the forward taperedend of the needle, and imparts flexibility to the needle in onedirection only.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the invention isprincipally concerned with rendering the body portion of the needleflexible in one direction only, and that the needle may be equipped atits forward end with a suitable point for playin any desired type ofrecord such as the Edison. Path, Victor, Columbia, etc.

The needle may be made of steel, brass, or other suitable metal, or maybe made of the combination of various metals, as a steel or brass bodywith a tungsten or jewel point.

In Figs. 8 and 9, the needle shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is illustrated inoperation. In Fig. 8, the needle is employed to function as a softdesignates a needle, and it is therefore rotated upon its longitudinalaxis so that the thin or flexible portion 11 is at right angles to therecord. In Fig. 9, the needle is shown turned at an angle of 90 from theposition occupied in Fig. 8, whereby the thin or flattened portion willrender the needle rigid through its entire length with respect to itsfunction, and the needle will then function as a hard needle. By turninthe needle upon its longitudinal axis to different positions betweenthese extreme points, it will be made to play with the desired degree ofsoftness or hardness.

It is to be noted that when the needle is placed in the holder of thereproducer in such a manner that the thin or flexible section of theneedle is in the same plane as the diaphragm when playing the zigzag orhill-and-dale style of record, then its rendition is soft; and when thethin portion is at right angles, then it is at its loudest. That is,when playing the zig-zag record, if the thin section is in a verticalposition, then it plays softly, for the vibrations are transverse, soact on the thin part, but with the hill-and-dale record, the vibrationsare vertical, and therefore the position of the needle when playing themsoftly would be at right angles to the position of the zig-zag records,because of the fact that the position of the diaphragm is also changed.

By making the thinnest section of the needle some distance (the greaterthe bet ter), from the point, the more strong vibrations it absorbs andis so enabled to play more softly when desire It is to be understoodthat the forms of my invention herewith shown and described are to betaken as preferred examples of the same, and that various changes in theshape, size, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoinedclaim.

I claim:

A phonograph needle, having V portions, produced by removing suflicientparts from alternately opposite sides of the body.

THEODORE FLETCHER.

